Sealed elevator cab entrance assembly

Abstract: The entrance to an elevator cab is provided with wedge gaskets (26,36) both above and below the cab door opening. The upper gasket (26) is mounted on the door opening header (16), and the lower gasket is mounted in the door sill (32). Gasket-engaging brackets (30,38) are mounted on the top and bottom of each door to snugly engage the gaskets when the cab doors are closed. The closed cab is substantially sealed against penetration by hoistway air so as to provide a quieter smoother ride, especially at high operating speeds. The seal is not established until the doors are completely closed.

Description: This invention relates to an elevator cab structure and more particularly, to an elevator cab structure having a sealed door system which, when closed, seals the interior of the cab from the hoistway environment. Structures for sealing elevator hoistway doors from the landings in buildings have been proposed. The reason for sealing the hoistways from the remainder of the building is to prevent the hoistways from becoming conduits for smoke from one building floor to another in the event of a fire in the building. These systems have vertically reciprocating sealing panels on the upper and lower portions of the door frame. These panels are reciprocated vertically as a result of contact With the landing doors as the latter are opened and closed. U.S. Patents Nos. 3,734,238, granted May 22, 1973 to A.V. Secresty, et al; and 4,735,293, granted April 5, 1988 to L.R. Everhart, et al. are representative of such elevator systems. These systems are fine for the limited purpose for which they are intended. With modern-day elevator systems operating at ever increasing speeds, chiefly due to the extremely tall buildings being built, the problem of hoistway cab-induced air turbulence adversely affecting cab ride and passenger comfort has increased. The higher the cab speed, the more noise and buffeting of the cab will occur. With present cab door systems, at high cab speeds air drafts inside of the cab can occur through the cab doors. The net result is a less than ideal ride from the passenger's viewpoint. The ride quality in such high speed elevators could be enhanced by the provision of a cab door system which effectively seals the interior of the cab from the hoistway when the cab doors are closed. Ideally, such a system would be susceptible to use in original equipment and would be factory installed as original equipment; and could also be installed as retrofit equipment in existing elevator systems in the field. Various aspects of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. In a preferred embodiment this invention is directed toward an elevator cab assembly having a door system which effectively seals the interior of the cab from the hoistway environment. The system provides a seal with no auxiliary moving parts, except for the doors and the door actuator. The doors are mounted on tracks which are secured to the cab entrance header. A tapered wedge-shaped gasket is mounted on the cab door opening header and is engaged by wedge brackets mounted on the doors. The joint created by the wedge gasket and wedge brackets Will effectively hermetically seal the top of the cab door opening when the cab doors are closed. A wedge gasket is also mounted in the cab door sill and complementary wedge brackets are mounted on the lower edge of each door. When the doors are closed, the lower wedge gasket and wedge brackets seal the lower edge of the door opening. The system of this embodiment does not require any auxiliary moving parts, other than the door or doors, and the door actuator. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical high speed traction elevator cab assembly; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cab entrance area showing the cab doors in their closed condition; FIG. 3 is a fragmented sectional view of the door roller/door track assembly in the cab door overhead; FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the cab door sill area; and FIG. 5 is a fragmented exploded perspective view of the door overhead and sill areas of the cab as seen from the interior of the cab. Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a typical high speed elevator cab assembly denoted generally by the numeral 2. The cab assembly 2 includes a frame 4 to which the hoist ropes (not shown) are connected. The cab 6 is mounted in the frame 4, and will typically be isolated to some extent from vibrations which occur in the frame 4. In the assembly shown, the cab 6 is suspended on the frame 4 by means of pendulum rods 8. The cab entrance wall is denoted generally by the numeral 10 and includes a pair of spaced apart wall panels 12 which flank the passenger opening into the cab 6. A pair of cab doors 14 are reciprocally slidably disposed on tracks 16 mounted on the cab entrance over-head panel 18. The doors 14 are reciprocated between open and closed positions by a conventional door operating system 20 mounted on the cab 6. The upper edges of the doors 14 overlap the overhead 18, and the lower edges of the doors 14 ride on the cab door sill 22, as shown most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4. Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, details of the door mount and seal components of the embodiment are shown. FIG. 2 shows the side labyrinth seals on the doors 14 and wall panels 12. Each side wall panel 12 has a generally J-shaped inner edge 13, and each of the doors 14 has a generally J-shaped outer edge 15. When the doors 14 are closed, as shown in FIG. 2, the edges 13 and 15 nest so as to form a labyrinth seal at the vertical outer edges of the doors 14. This seal retards hoistway air from entering the cab 6 through the outer door jambs when the doors 14 are closed. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate details of the upper and lower edges of the doors and the cab door frame, and how a hermetic seal is made. In FIG. 3, the cab door opening header panel 18 and the track 16 formed thereon are shown. The doors 14 also include header panels 22 which extend above the upper end of the doors 14, and which overlie the cab door opening header panel 18. The door header panels 22 have rollers 24 mounted thereon which rollers ride over the tracks 16 as the doors 14 are opened and closed. A wedge-shaped gasket 26 is mounted on a lowermost flange 28 on the door opening header panel 18, and a wedge bracket 30 is mounted on each of the doors 14 for engagement with the wedge gasket 26, as will be more clearly explained hereinafter. The sill portion of the door mount is shown in FIG. 4. A door sill 32 is mounted on the floor panel 34 of the cab. A wedge-shaped gasket 36 is mounted inside of the door sill 32, and a lower wedge bracket 38 is mounted on the lower edge of each of the doors 14. The wedge brackets 38 extend into the interior of the sill 32, and engage the wedge gasket 36, as will be more clearly explained hereinafter. Referring now to FIG. 5, details of the upper and lower wedge gasket and wedge bracket mounts are shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the cab sill 32 is mounted on a front vertical surface of the cab floor 34. The sill wedge gasket 36 is mounted inside of the sill 32. The gasket 36 includes opposed centrally upwardly tapering top surfaces 37. The lower door wedge brackets 38 are mounted on the bottom of the doors 14, and extend into the sill 32 through a gap 33 in the upper surface thereof. The brackets 38 have horizontal flanges 39 which taper upwardly and inwardly in conformity with the taper on the gasket surfaces 37. The header wedge gasket 26 also has top inwardly and upwardly tapering surfaces 25, and is mounted on the cab door opening header panel 18. The upper wedge brackets 30 have horizontal tapered flanges 31 which have taper angles which conform to the taper of the header wedge gasket surfaces 25. When the doors 14 are open, the bracket flanges 31 and 39 are spaced apart from the wedge surfaces 25 and 37, respectively, and the bracket and wedge surfaces will be essentially parallel to each other. As the doors 14 close, the surfaces 25, 31 and 37, 39 move toward each other, but without touching until the doors have completely closed. At that time, and substantially only at that time, is the cab interior sealed from the hoistway. It will be readily appreciated that the door system of this embodiment operates with substantially the same degree of friction and noise as an identical door system without the cab-sealing components. The sealing modifications can be added to an existing elevator system in the field or, of course, can be installed as original factory equipment. This embodiment is particularly useful in high speed, high rise elevator systems, and can significantly increase ride stability and passenger comfort at higher cab speeds. The wedge brackets are preferably formed from a harder, durable material such as a rigid plastic, aluminum, steel, or the like. The wedge gaskets are preferably made from a softer material such as a sponge tape, rubber, or other elastomeric plastics. The seal system can also be used on landing entrances to prevent escape of hoistway air or smoke into the landing floors.

Claims: In an elevator cab structure, a passenger door assembly comprising: a) at least one elevator door (14) translationally reciprocally movably mounted on said cab structure adjacent a door opening therein, said door being movable between a door-open position and a door closed position; b) a track (16,32) mounted on said cab structure and engaged by said door, said track providing a guide for said translational door movement; c) a first horizontally extending seal means (26,36) mounted on said cab structure adjacent to said door opening, said first seal means including a first vertically inclined sealing surface (25,37) thereon; and d) a second horizontally extending seal means (30,38) mounted on said door adjacent to a horizontal edge thereof, said second seal means having a second vertically inclined sealing surface (31,39) thereon, said second sealing surface being laterally offset from said first sealing surface when said door is in said door-open position, and said second sealing surface being disposed in substantially hermetically sealing engagement with said first sealing surface when said door is in said door-closed position. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first (26,36) and second (30,38) seal means are both fixed against vertical movement on said cab and door respectively. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first (25,37) and second (31,39) sealing surfaces are substantially parallel to each other when spaced apart from each other. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein there are upper (26) and lower (36) first seal means which are mounted adjacent to upper and lower edges respectively of said cab door opening, and wherein there are upper (30) and lower (38) second seal means mounted adjacent to upper and lower edges respectively of said door. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said lower first seal means (36) is mounted in a sill portion (32) of said cab door opening. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said lower second seal means (38) is mounted on an edge of said door (14) which nests in said sill portion (32) of said cab door opening. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there are two separate cab doors (14) which are reciprocally slidable on said tracks (16,32) in opposite directions relative to each other to open and close said door opening; each of said doors having a second seal means (30,38) mounted thereon with respective second sealing surfaces (31,39); and wherein said first seal means comprises a gasket (26) mounted above said door opening, said gasket having oppositely extending tapered first sealing surfaces (25), said gasket being mounted adjacent to said door opening between said doors, and said oppositely extending tapered sealing surfaces tapering downwardly and outwardly toward opposite vertical sides of said door opening. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said cab doors (14) comprises upper (30) and lower (38) edge sealing brackets; and wherein there are upper (26) and lower (36) complementary sealing gaskets mounted on said cab above and below said door opening between said doors. An elevator system comprising: a) a passenger cab including an entrance opening formed in one wall thereof; b) a track (16) mounted on said cab above said entrance opening; c) a sealing gasket (26) mounted on said cab adjacent to said track, said gasket including opposed gasket sealing surfaces (25) on one side thereof which taper toward opposite sides of said gasket; d) a pair of doors (14) mounted on said track for sliding movement thereon; said doors being movable between a spaced apart entrance-open position, and an abutting entrance-closed position; and e) a sealing bracket (30) mounted on each door opposite to said sealing gasket, each sealing bracket having a bracket sealing surface (31) thereon which is positioned to abut a complementary one of said gasket sealing surfaces when said doors are in said entrance-closed position whereby at least one horizontal edge of said entrance opening is sealed against passage of hoistway air. An elevator system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said gasket (26) and brackets (30) are fixed against vertical movement, and each of said bracket sealing surfaces (31) is parallel to a complementary one of said gasket sealing surfaces (25). An elevator system as claimed in claim 9 or 10, further comprising a sill means (32) at a lower horizontal edge of said entrance opening; a sill gasket (36) mounted on said sill, said sill gasket having oppositely tapered sill gasket sealing surfaces (37) thereon; and a sill bracket (38) mounted on each said door (14), said sill brackets each having a sill bracket sealing surface (39) thereon translationally aligned with complementary ones of said sill gasket sealing surfaces whereby said sill gasket and said sill brackets will combine to seal said entrance sill against hoistway air when said doors are in said entrance-closed position. An elevator system comprising: a) a cab having a passenger entrance therein; b) a movable door assembly (14) mounted on said cab for selectively opening and closing said passenger entrance; c) first vertically immobile sealing means (26,36) mounted on said cab above and below said passenger entrance; and d) second vertically immobile sealing means (30,38) mounted on said door assembly and translationally aligned with said first sealing means, said first and second sealing means being brought into mutually abutting sealed engagement with each other when said passenger entrance is closed by said door assembly, and being thus operable to seal upper and lower edges of said passenger entrance against hoistway air.

Inventors: RIVERA JAMES A, TONNA CHRISTIAN G, RIVERA, JAMES A., TONNA, CHRISTIAN G.
Applicants: OTIS ELEVATOR CO, OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B66B13
IPC codes: B66B13, B66B11